Mechanic&#39;s tool



May 25, 1943. c. o. Ross MECHANICS TOOL Filed April 2a, 1941 Patented May 25, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE MECHANICS TOOL Clilord O. Ross, Beverly Hills, Calif.

Application April 28, 1941, Serial No. 390,705

10 Claims.

This invention relates generally to mechanics tools and more particularly to devices such as pliers and wrenches for gripping and/or holding various articles.

An object of this invention is to provide a tool which is structurally characterized by means enabling a powerful gripping force to be applied to an article with slight manual effort, and/or the tool locked to the article to facilitate various operations, and which can be inexpensively manufactured.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tool of the above described character which embodies jaws operated and associated in a manner to have a parallel gripping action effective over a very large range Within which the jaws can be locked in any gripping position of adjustment, all While permitting the disconnection of one of the jaws from its operating mechanism andthe removal of the jaw from the tool for substitution by another jaw for a different use.

With these and other objects in view, the invention resides in the combinations and arrangements of elements as set forth in the following specification and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional View of one form of tool embodying this invention, with an article gripped between the jaws of the tool;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure l and illustrating the tool gripping the article and locked thereto;

Figure 3 is a View of the tool in end elevation;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the movable jaw of the tool;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the xed jaw of the tool.

Referring specifically to the drawing, the invention, in its illustrated embodiment, comprises hollow handles I and II constructed of sheet metal and pivotally connected by a pin I2. The handles are generally U-shaped in cross section with the handle I0 formed at its pivoted end to provide relatively wide side plates I3 between which the corresponding end of the handle II is pivoted by the pin I2. The handle I0 is extended longitudinally beyond the side plates I3 to provide an abutment socket I4 in which seats an L- shaped jaw I having an article-engaging portion I6 which is wider than the socket I4 so as to abut the latter, and spaced parallel rectilinear guiding portions I1 which extend along the inner sides of the side plates I3 flush with their outer -ends, and are welded or otherwise secured to the plates to rigidly and permanently secure the jaw I5 to the handle l0.

Co-actable with the jaw I5 is an L-shaped jaw I8 having an article-engaging portion I9 of the same width as the portion I5 of the jaw I5; a'relatively narrow mounting portion 20 slidable between the guiding portions I1 of the jaw I5; and an actuatable portion 2I slidable freely between the side plates I3, all to the end of mounting the jaws I5 and I8 for relative rectilinear or parallel movements towards and away from each other. It Will be noted that the handle I0 is slotted at 22 to permit passage of the jaw portions 20 and 2| in certain positions of the jaws, and that the opposed shoulders 23 and 24 formed on the jaw I8 between its portions I9 and 20, co-act with the guiding portions I1 of the jaw I5 in preventing any tilting movement of the jaw I5 relative to the jaw i8 in opposition to a gripping force applied to an article by the jaws.

The actuatable portion 2I of the jaw I8 is provided with teeth 25 with which is adapted to mesh a tooth 26 on one end of an actuating member in the form of a lever 21 of the third class which is pivotally mounted on the handle I0 by a pin 28 projecting through registering L-shaped slots 29 in the handle and projecting from opposite sides of the latter to provide finger pieces by which the lever 21 can be shifted longitudinally to occupy one extreme and active position in which the pin is disposed in the lateral branches 29a of the slots 28 and the tooth 26 is in meshing relationship to the teeth 25, or to occupy another extreme and inactive position in which the pin is disposed in the longitudinal branches 29h of the slots 29 and the tooth 26 is out of meshing relationship to the teeth 25 so as to free the jaw I8 for removal from the tool and substitution by another type of jaw for different work.

A nat spring 30 is laterally bent adjacent one end to form a transverse groove 3| in which is received a pin 32 fixed to the handle I0 for coaction of the spring with the handle and with Ythe lever 21 against which a free end of the spring bears, in urging the pivoted Iend of the lever laterally towards the lateral branches 29a of the slots 29 so as to releasably retain the lever in its active or jaw-operating position. The handle ID is provided with sight openings Illa through which the tooth 26 can be viewed in a certain position of the lever, whereby to facilitate positioning of the jaw I8 in meshing the tooth 26 of the lever with the teeth 25 to restore the lever to its operating position.

The lever 21 is operatively connected to the handle Il for actuation by a pair of links 33 pivoted at one end by a pin 34 to the lever, and at the other end by a pin 35 to a laterally projecting lug 36 of an adjustable link-forming element 31 slidably mounted in the handle Il for translatory adjustment or movement longitudinally thereof by means of a feed screw 28 threaded at one end into a bore 39 in the element 31, and journaled at its `other end in a bearing 40 secured in the outer end of the handle. A thrust collar 4I is fixed to the feed screw at the inner end of the bearing 40 so as to abut the latter, anda knurled knob 42 is xed to the screw beyond the free end of the handle I I so as to be conveniently accessible for turning to adjust the position of the element 31. The element 31 is bifurcated at 43 to receive the pin I2 so as to engage the latter and impose directly thereon the load to which the portions of the lever I I through which the pin passes would otherwise lbe subjected when an article is being gripped by the jaws.

The element 31 constitutes a toggle link which not only co-acts with the links 33 and lever 21 to provide a compound lever system between the handles and the jaws but also provides va toggle locking device by which the tool can be readily locked to an article being gripped by the jaws in the operation of the tool, which is as follows:

With the lever 21 occupying its active or jawoperating position shown in full lines in Figure 1, articles can be powerfully gripped between the jaws I and I8 by applying clamping pressure to the handles I'II and II. By virtue of Aan easily adjustable relationship of the tooth 26 of the lever 21 to the teeth 25 of the jaw I I a wide range of sizes of articles can be gripped.

This adjustment is readily accomplished by retracting the lever 21 to the position shown in broken lines in Figure 1, and then shifting the jaw I8 towards or away from the jaw I5 so that upon restoring the lever to its operating position, a different one of the teeth 25 will co-act with the tooth 26.

Should it be desired to grip an -article and not lock the tool thereto, the link element 31 is adjusted by the feed screw 38 so that in the gripping positions of the jaws upon an article, the toggle-forming relationship of the axes of the pins I2, 34 and 35 will be that shown in Figure l, from `which it will be noted that lines of force a and b passing through these axes lack a small angle of movement to reach an alined or deadcenter position. Thus it will be clear that upon releasing the handles I Il and II the jaws will release the article.

To lock the tool-to the article, the knob 42 is turned to adjustwthe `element 31 in a direction towards the pin -I2,'a suflicient distance for the force lines Aa, and b to pass the dead-centerv position during the final movement of the handles I0 and II in gripping the article between the jaws. Thus, upon releasing the handles the toggle formed by the'pair of links 33 and the adjustable link de'ned-by the handle II and the element 31 will maintain the jaws in article-g-ripping position so 'asto lock the tool to the article. To release the tool, it is only necessary that the knob 42 be -reversely lturned until the adjustment of the'element 31 in a direction away from the pin I2 is sufficient to break the toggle by restoring the element and the links 33 to the released position shown-1 in Figure 1.

From the foregoing-description, it will be manifest that articles lwithin a wide range of sizes can be held in an extremely powerful grip with slight manual eiiort, by the compounded toggle lever system of the tool, and the later locked in its applied position or released therefrom by a simple adjustment of the lever system.

What is claimed is:

l. A tool of the class described comprising: a pair of pivotally connected handles; a pair of jaws one of which is fixed to one of said handles; means movably mounting the other of said jaws on said one handle for opening and closing movements relative to the fixed jaw; a lever having a releasable operative connection to said other jaw; means mounting said lever on said one of the handles for pivotal movement to eiect actuation of said other jaw, and for movement bodily to an inactive position wherein said operative connection to the other jaw will be disrupted so as to free the other jaw for `adjustment independent of said lever; and means operatively connecting said lever to said other handle for actuating said lever to impart relative opening and closing movements to the jaws according as relative movement of the handles in one direction or the other is effected.

2. A tool of the class described comprising: a pair of pivotally connected handles; a pair of jaws one of which is xed to one of said handles; means movably mounting the other of said jaws on said one handle for opening and closing movements relative to the fixed jaw; a lever having a releasable operative connection to saidother jaw; means mounting said lever on said one of the handles for pivotal movement to effect actuation of said other jaw, and for movement bodily to an inactive position wherein said operative connection to the other yjaw will be disrupted so as to free the other jaw for adjustment independent of said lever; a toggle-forming link connection between said lever and said other handle by which actuation of the latter will impart movement to the lever to actuate said jaws relatively in response to actuation of the handles; and means by which the last said connection can be adjusted to'lock the jaws against opening movement in different open positions.

3. A tool of the class described comprising: a pair of pivotally connected handles; a pair of jaws, one of which is xed to one of said handles, and the other of which is mounted on the latter for opening and closing movements relative to the i'lXed jaw; means operatively connected to said movable jaw, and co-acting vwith the handles to actuate the movable jaw in one direction or the other according as relative movement of the handles in one direction or the other is effected; said means including a link-forming element adjustably, mounted on said other handle to vary the open position of the jaws at which the latter will be locked against opening movement; and a feed screw journaled in said other handle and having threaded connection with said element for adjustment of the latter in response to rotation of the screw.

4. A tool of the class described comprising: a pair of pivotally connected handles; a pair of jaws, one of which is xed to one of said handles, and the Aother of which is mounted on the latter for opening and closing movements relative to the xed jaw; a lever pivotally mounted at one end von said one of the handles; teeth on the other of said jaws with which the-other end of said lever isco-actable to actuate such jaw vupon rocking Amovement ofthe lever; a toggle link pivotally connected at one end to said lever intermediate its ends; and means pivotally connecting the other end of said toggle link to the other of said handles adjacent the pivotal connection of the latter to said one ofthe handles to provide a second toggle link co-actable with the first said toggle link in multiplying the gripping power applied to said handles.

5. A tool of the class described comprising: a pair of pivotally connected handles; a pair of jaws, one of which is fixed to one of the handles, and the other of which is mounted on the latter for opening and closing movements relative to the xed jaw; a lever pivotally mounted at one end on said one of the handles; teeth on the other of said jaws with which the other end of said lever is co-actable to actuate such jaw upon rocking movement of the lever; a toggle link pivotally connected at one end to said lever intermediate its ends; a toggle link forming element mounted on said other handle for movement longitudinally thereof; means pivotally connecting the other end of the first said toggle link to said element for co-action therewith in multiplying gripping power applied to said handles; a feed screw journaled in said other handle and having threaded connection with said element for adjustment thereof to vary the angular relationship of the toggle links to each other; and means by which the feed screw can be rotated.

6. A tool of the class described comprising: a pair of pivotally connected handles; a pair of jaws, one of which is xed to one of said handles, and the other of which is mounted on the latter for opening and closing movements relative to the fixed jaw; a lever pivotally mounted at one end on said one of the handles; teeth on the other of said jaws with which the other end of said lever is selectively co-actable to actuate such jaw upon rocking movement of the lever; a toggle link pivotally connected at one end to said lever intermediate its ends; means pivotally connecting the other end of said toggle link to the other of said handles adjacent the pivotal connection of the latter to said one of the handles to provide a second toggle link co`` vactable with the iirst said toggle link in multiplying the gripping power applied to the handles; said pivotal mounting of the lever on said one of the handles including a slidable operative connection with the latter enabling the lever to be shifted longitudinally from one extreme position in engagement with the teeth on said other jaw, to another extreme position wherein the lever disengages the teeth to permit adjustment of said other jaw independently of the lever; and releasable means for retaining the lever in its first mentioned position.

7. A tool of the class described comprising: a pair of pivotally connected handles; a pair of jaws, one of which is fixed to one of said handles, and the other of which is mounted on the latter for opening and closing movements relative to the xed jaw; a lever pivotally mounted at one end on said one of the handles; teeth on the other of said jaws with which the other end of said lever is selectively co-actable to actuate such jaw upon rocking movement of the lever; a toggle link pivotally connected at one end to said lever intermediate its ends; means pivotally connecting the other end of said toggle link to the other of said handles adjacent the pivotal connection of the latter to said one of the handles to provide a second toggle link co-actable with the first said toggle link in multiplying the gripping power applied to said handles; said pivotal mounting of the lever on said one of the handles including a pivot pin carried by the lever and an L-shaped slot in said one of the handles in which the pin works to enable the lever to be shifted longitudinally from one extreme position to another according as the lever is to be engaged with or disengaged from the teeth of said other jaw; and a spring engaging said lever to releasably retain said pivot pin in a lateral branch of said slot to maintain the lever in that extreme position in which it is engaged with said teeth.

8. A tool of the class described comprising: a pair of pivotally connected handles; a pair of jaws, one of which is carried by one of the handles, and the other of which is mounted on said one of the handles for opening and closing movements relative to said one jaw; a lever pivotally mounted on said one of the handles; co-acting means on the other of said jaws and said lever for actuating such jaw upon movement of the lever; a pair of links forming a toggle; means pivotally connecting one of said links to said lever; means mounting the other of said links on the other handle for pivotal movement and for translatory adjustment to vary the angular relationship of the links to each other; and means by which translatory adjustment of said other toggle link can be eiected, whereby to vary the article gripping position of the jaws at which the latter can be locked on the article by the action of the toggle.

9. A tool of the class described comprising: a pair of pivotally connected handles; a pair of jaws, one of which is carried by one of the handles, and the other of which is mounted on said one of the handles for opening and closing movements relative to said one jaw; a lever pivotally mounted on said one of the handles; co-acting means on the other of said jaws and said lever for actuating such jaw upon movement of the lever; a pair of links forming a toggle; means pivotally connecting one of said links to said lever; means mounting the other of said links on the other handle for pivotal movement and for translatory adjustment to vary the angular relationship of the links to each other; a feed screw; and means operatively connecting said feed screw to said other handle and to said other toggle link, by which translatory adjustment of the latter will be effected in response to rotation of the feed screw, whereby to vary the article gripping position of the jaws at which the latter can be locked on the article by the action of the toggle.

10. A tool of the class described comprising: a pair of pivotally connected handles; a pair of jaws, one of which is xed to one of said handles, and the other of which is mounted on the latter for opening and closing movements relative to the xed jaw; a lever pivotally mounted at one end on said one of the handles; the free end of said lever and said other jaw having means coacting to actuate the latter upon movement of the lever; a toggle link pivotally connected at one end to said lever intermediate the ends of the latter; and another toggle link pivotally connected to the first toggle link and mounted on the other of the handles for co-action with the latter and lever in multiplying gripping power applied to said handles.

CLIFFORD O. ROSS. 

